Agatha Christie meets Quantum Leap meets Groundhog Day sounds like an odd combination, but in The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, it works brilliantly.

A man awakens in a forest with no memory of who or where he is. Arriving at a nearby manor house, he learns his name is Dr. Sebastian Bell, yet upon awakening the following day he finds himself in the body of another man. Soon, the protagonist learns that he is trapped at the house until he solves the murder of the Evelyn Hardcastle who will die, every night, at 11 pm while he will awaken within a new host body for eight days—reliving the same day over and over again from a new perspective. If he can deliver the name of Evelyn’s killer to the mysterious Plague Doctor at 11 pm, he can go free, but there are others out to solve the puzzle first who will stop at nothing to beat him, and if no one can solve the murder by the end of the final night, the loop will reset as it has done for countless years.

This is a masterpiece of planning, with dozens of plots threads intricately woven through the many days and hosts. Each body the protagonist inhabits has its own quirks and limitations, along with its own advantages that allow him to see the day anew. Sophie wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about the ending, however. While the mystery of Evelyn’s murder is wrapped up carefully and doesn’t feel like a cop-out (as many of these intricately woven, clever stories can), the very end made her feel uncomfortable. Certainly, she didn’t feel as capable of forgiveness as the protagonist became, and the sense of shifting identity was something that didn’t sit well under her skin. It did prompt a conversation between her and her husband, though, and she could see this being a perfect book club title with infinite points for discussion.

Ahoy there mateys!  I received this murder mystery  eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

the 7 1/2 deaths of evelyn hardcastle (Stuart Turton)

Title: the 7 1/2 deaths of evelyn hardcastle

Author: Stuart Turton

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Publication Date: TODAY! (U.S. hardcover/e-book)

ISBN: 978-1492657965

Source: NetGalley

I have been avenged and vindicated!  I finally, finally got me grubby mitts on this here correct book!

For those new to me crew, a while back I suffered immense confusion and shock when I picked up a book expecting to find a time-travel fantasy and there was no time travel to be had. What I had meant to read was this book, called the seven deaths of evelyn hardcastle.  What I got instead was a book called the seven husbands of evelyn hugo - a wonderful historical fiction about the golden age of Hollywood with a LGBT twist!  Similar titles hence the confusion.

Side note:  Liz Laurin on Goodreads asked the author "Always been curious since I love both books, is the name any sort of homage to The Seven Hsubands of Evelyn Hugo, or just a weird coincidence? There wouldn't seem to be any sort of connection as they are very different books, but I LOVE both."  His glorious response, "Complete coincidence - that's why we had to change the US title to 7 1/2 Deaths."  Ha!

While I was delighted by the mischance, I did want to read the correct book.  It was described to me as Agatha Christie meets Groundhog's Day.  Fun stuff!  And goodness did this yarn deliver.  The main premise is that a man named Aiden Bishop has been doomed to repeat the same day over and over - the day that Evelyn Hardcastle is murdered at a gala party thrown by her parents.  The only way he can escape this dastardly day is if he can solve who murdered Evelyn and how.  But after hundreds of repeats of the day in question, is Aiden really any closer to discovering who-dun-it?

Basically this work be a genius of craft and cunning.  The complexities were many and the puzzles fascinating.  And I loved it.  I am in awe of the planning and vision of this work.  Me noggin spun pleasantly in possibilities while readin' it and spun satisfactorily in circles upon finishing it.  It is a book that deserves a second readin' now that the puzzle pieces have been revealed to me.  Because now that I can see the pieces, I want to take another look at how the parts interlocked from the beginning.  I will certainly be readin' Mr. Turton's next book.

I still recommend that the crew reads about evelyn hugo.  But I also recommend that me crew picks this one about evelyn hardcastle up too!  Savvy?

Goodreads has this to say about the novel:

How do you stop a murder that’s already happened?

At a gala party thrown by her parents, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed--again. She's been murdered hundreds of times, and each day, Aiden Bishop is too late to save her. Doomed to repeat the same day over and over, Aiden's only escape is to solve Evelyn Hardcastle's murder and conquer the shadows of an enemy he struggles to even comprehend--but nothing and no one are quite what they seem.

To visit the author’s twitter go to:

Stuart Turton - Author

To buy this novel visit:

the seven deaths of evelyn hardcastle - Book

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Yer Ports for Plunder List

This is a simply fantastic debut showing from Stuart Turton. The plot manages to marry an Agatha Christie mystery with Groundhog Day, with a little dash of The Twilight Zone and Doctor Who thrown in for good measure. Such a story should be absurd in the extreme, but Turton manages to deliver a classically-toned mystery with new and original parts.

As the story begins, we are dropped into the classic brooding English manor house and grounds with our amnesiac protagonist. What at first appears to be a fairly typical turn-of-the-century mystery story swiftly shunts both reader and protagonist into strange and unexpected territory. As the threads of the story weave themselves into ever more complicated patterns, we find the tropes of the manor house murder mystery both revered and stood on their heads.

Turton’s debut novel is an incredibly original, carefully crafted story. By providing us with such a well-known and beloved literary setting, he lures the reader into a false sense of confidence that they know what is going on. It is only once deep into the story that we realize how far from the garden path we have been led.

Mystery lovers and any who are looking for a new and original read will enjoy this book.

An advance copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I do not have to words to describe how amazing this book is. It got to the point where I was dreaming in the style of the book! The whole idea that Aiden has only a set number of guests whose bodies he will jump into to solve the murder to Evelyn Hardcastle fascinated me, and the way it was executed was wonderful. I loved the reasoning behind why Aiden has to do this, there was such confidence to the reasoning behind this story that I bought into everything and loved every second.

There are a whole lot of characters in this book, and they’re not always being entirely truthful about who they might be, or what they’re doing. I found though that I could easily keep up with who was who and when a twist was revealed it filled easily into my understanding of the book. There are still a few moments that I have questions about but I really appreciate that not everything is tied up by the end of the book, and it really is only a couple of moments that are left unresolved.

I loved how the story jumped around in time, and that it wasn’t as simple as one day in one body then restart the day in another body. It made what could have been an almost dull, linear storyline into something that was a lot more complicated and interesting. It kept me on my toes the entire time!

This is a really wonderful book and I really, really suggest that you pick it up!

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

by Stuart Turton



Rating: ♥♥♥

Pages: 518

Publisher: Raven Books

Publishing Date: February 8th 2018

Synopsis:

At a gala party thrown by her parents, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed--again. She's been murdered hundreds of times, and each day, Aiden Bishop is too late to save her. Doomed to repeat the same day over and over, Aiden's only escape is to solve Evelyn Hardcastle's murder and conquer the shadows of an enemy he struggles to even comprehend--but nothing and no one are quite what they seem. (Goodreads)

Mini - Review:

This book was quiet handful to read. I did not expect anything in peculiar and the idea was absolutely compelling, but in the end I struggled a lot with the book. Not because it was not good, but because it was a long breather. A little too slow pacing for my taste. The Cover is beyond beautiful and was what made me reading this book in the beginning :) I can't say no to an amazing cover design.

The story circles about several "hosts" that have to save the life of the young Evelyn Hardcastle and all the little secrets and crimes they have to discover. In the end no one and nothing was as it seemed and the second half of the book was a lot more exciting and fast pacing than the first one.

I adored the character of Aiden Bishop and was amazed by all the details and murder strings the author followed by. It was a lush described book with more secrets than words in it and it was absolutely amazing to detect all of that through a more than subjective speaker. The characters were well built and authentically and I hated most of them with all my heart :D But in the end it was not enough to love- love the book. I could not identify myself with any of the characters and some revelations were just a bit too far stretched in my opinion. The book could have been a lot shorter, because that would have made it much more exciting and therefore more authentic in my point of view. The labyrinth of secrets was so beautifully written and most of the changes I would never have expected, so that was a plus for a thriller lover like me, but some parts of the story were repeated quiet too often and weren't really important in the end. I guess that's criticism on high nouveau, so I just want you all to prepare for a slowly revealing secret around more than one death.

So enjoy the journey and trust no one, not even your own feelings! 

(September 1st 2018)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars!

I loved this so much! The plot was so intriguing and original from the beginning and kept me up at night so that I could finish it to uncover the mystery.

The basic premise here is our main character, Aiden, has 8 days in 8 different bodies/hosts to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle.

Seeing the differences between the 8 different hosts whilst Aiden controls them was one of my favourite parts of the book- we got to see each individuals strengths and weaknesses and how significantly these underlying personalities could affect the ongoing investigation.

Generally, I don’t tend to pick up mysteries and thrillers, but I am so so glad that I did with this one. The way this book was written was so intriguing and different to anything I’ve seen or read before.

I’ve seen some people saying they spent a lot of time confused whilst reading this book, which I completely understand. In the beginning, the reader is meant to be confused about what’s happening, as Aiden doesn’t understand it either. However, I think perseverance and a good memory for all the characters can result in a great reading experience!

It has definitely encouraged me to pick up some more mysteries in the future and I will definitely be reading anything else Stuart Turton writes in the future!

Pros: Original idea, no dull parts, well developed characters and insanely intense in the best possible way

Cons: the ending seemed too fast for me?

Overall: I would recommend this to anyone to try because once you get your head around what’s happening, it’s impossible to put down!

4,5 stars.

The seven deaths (or the seven 1/2 deaths, I can't seem to figure out because I see both titles everywhere?) of Evelyn Hardcastle is a classic murder mystery with a twist. Rich, despicable people stuck in a fancy house in the middle of nowhere. A murder that happened 19 years ago and broke a family. A extravagant party. A murder that doesn't look like a murder. Seems all pretty normal for a murder mystery, but the thing is, the main character gets another chance at solving it. And another. And another. Every day, a different body to live through the same day. I went into this book not knowing this, but then I realized it's not really a spoiler because it's the biggest selling point of the book, so.

This book was so incredibly intricate and clever. It was incredible The "time travel" dynamic was amazing, it almost felt like a game. Learning with Aiden how to use the day's happenings in his advantage was amazing. Seeing it all unfold was incredible. Both the characters that were stuck in the loop, repeating their actions day after day and the ones who could change them were compelling and interesting. I was interested in them all - and can't say I loved them all because most were goddamn awful people, which just makes the book better. Unlikeable characters are my thing

I'm only dropping half a star because with such an incredible weaven plot and story, the info dump at the end was a bit disappointing. Aiden was so clever and so was the scenario - maybe the whole explanation could have been done differently. Other than that, it was an amazing book through and through.

https://youtu.be/DVd17Rgdew0

Sorry this has taken so long, as you can see, the video was uploaded a long time ago

This book is unlike any I’ve ever read. Twists around every corner and a seemingly impossible task drive this mystery forward but the real meat of the book is what our protagonist discovers about himself and the people around him.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

I get so happy when I come across a book that is different from anything else I have ever read. Different in a great way though. I loved this book! I must confess I read some of the reviews before I read it and there were several awful reviews. I went into this book not really knowing what to expect or what I would think about it. It seems a lot of the bad reviews were from people who had trouble following along. I never felt that way at all! This book is about a man (Aiden) who wakes up every day for eight days in a different persons body (he has their characteristics and attitudes but mostly his own thoughts). He is trying to solve a murder he knows is destined to happen, by spending the eight days as these different people, each of whom has a piece of the puzzle he needs. He must put all the pieces together and solve the murder by the end of the eighth day or end up repeating the loop again with no memory of the previous loop. I loved each of the eight people that he inhabits, even though some were pretty bad people! He has help, at least he thinks, by a few other people who seem to also be caught up in the mystery. How this all unravels, piece by piece, will keep you guessing until the end! If you are not someone who can keep up with 8 characters, that’s too bad. Then I guess give this book a pass. Otherwise dig in and enjoy the loop, you won’t regret it! I received a free copy from the publisher for my honest review, and here it is! Get it, read it, look forward to each new persona, love it!

This unusual book is pretty well outside my normal wheelhouse, and definitely required me to focus intently on what I was reading to make sure I was catching all the details. At a touch over 500 pages, it's an investment, but this quirky mystery story is worthy of the reading time. I found that it was really intriguing at the beginning as Aiden is learning what has happened to him and what he has been tasked with. The process of solving this mystery, and how he gathers clues through his various "hosts" using their particular knowledge, skills, and strengths (and in some cases, lack thereof) makes for quite an original story. There were parts through the middle that lagged a bit (some of the hosts were more interesting than others), but the ending, when the details of what's been happening to Aiden, as well as the murder mystery he's been working to solve, is revealed, really picks up.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a mystery that crosses over a bit into the fantasy genre. The best way to describe it would be Quantum Leap meets Groundhog Day, set in an Agatha Christie like novel. I don't think I've ever read a mystery quite like this.

After what I thought was a bit of a slow start (it seemed to take a while to find out who Evelyn Hardcastle was and how she fit into the story) I found it impossible to put down, and it kept me guessing the whole time. Every time I thought I knew what was going on something else got thrown in there that I didn't see coming.

The story is set in a place called Blackheath and it really isn't what it seems. I really can't say much more in my review without spoiling things, but I thought this was a well written book. I really couldn't tell that this was a debut author. The story is well constructed with lots of bits and pieces that all come together very nicely in the end, and that can be hard to do in a time loop kind of story. I definitely recommend this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

Review also posted at Writings of a Reader

DNF

I feel like this book is an ice cream cone, and the scoop just fell on the ground and started melting. Gosh, I was so disappointed, and the ratings for this book are SO HIGH???

It wasn't easy for me to lose myself in the prose, the dialogue is stiff, and overall I didn't feel entertained or emotionally affected.

And I made a new promise that I wouldn't force myself to finish books if they aren't very good. Because my TBR will probably take 12 average lifespans to read through. So.

Title: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Author: Stuart Turton
Genre: Mystery, murder mystery
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

When he wakes up in the forest, he has no idea where he is, how he got there, or what he’s doing there. He doesn’t even know who he is. Minutes later, he sees a woman murdered, and her killer hands him a compass and a cryptic direction. How desperate do you have to be to listen to a murderer? About that desperate. But soon he has a name: Aiden Bishop.

The Hardcastles are hosting a house party to mark the anniversary of their son’s death. All the guests are there, but no one has seen the hosts, only their remaining son and daughter. Aiden discovers that nothing is as it seems—and no one.

When he wakes up the second day in the body of a different guest, he realizes he must re-live the same day over and over until he solves the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle, who kills herself at the ball that night. He doesn’t know what’s going on. He doesn’t know who to trust. He only knows that someone is trying to stop him from solving the crime—and that person will kill all his bodies to stop him.

This book has one of the most unique premises I’ve ever read. The opening chapter has Aiden with no idea what is going on—and I felt like that the rest of the book. The writing is solid, and the author does a great job of contrasting Aiden’s personality with his host’s. I was intrigued from the very beginning, and I never did figure out what was going on!

Stuart Turton lives in London with his wife. The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is his debut novel.

(Galley provided by Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review.)

Aiden Bishop wakes up alone in the forest with no memories except one name - Anna. He has no idea who he is, where he is, or how he ended up there. A compass pressed upon him by a mysterious stranger guides him to the Blackheath estate, where people seem to know him as Sebastian Bell. The mystery deepens when a man dressed as a plague doctor informs him that he has eight days and eight "hosts" to solve a murder that won't seem like a murder. If he can't convince the plague doctor of the answer in eights days' time, he will lose his memories and the whole cycle will start again.
Groundhog Day meets Agatha Christie in this complex, character-driven whodunnit in which nothing is what it seems. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a bit hard to follow at times due to overlapping timelines and a complicated web of a plot, but the action keeps the story moving. In true Agatha Christie fashion, it keeps you guessing until the very end!

I don't usually gush about every book I read, but this one is divine. I could eat it. Evelyn Hardcastle is in danger of dying...every day.. Aiden Bishop must find out the identity of her killer in order to end the vicious cycle. However, Aiden is not completely himself...in fact, each day he wakes in the body of a new host and must discover clues without knowing what to believe about his own reality.

Beautifully written and wonderfully suspenseful. I imagined an Agatha Christie-like mysterious mansion with each guest a suspect. Very highly recommended!!

If you liked the movie Groundhog Day I believe you will love this book. Unfortunately I didn’t and I am now at the halfway point of the book and am finally giving up. It is very hard to keep track of the characters and I just can’t stomach reading it any longer. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy. I will not be recommending this book.

So, think Groundhog Day or Life After Life amidst the English aristocracy. It takes awhile to latch on to what’s happening here. Still, while the conceit has been done before, it’s done well here.

This isn’t an easy read. It demands your full attention to keep track of which body Aiden is in, what day it is, what knowledge has been gained along the way and who’s alive and who’s dead. It does, however, keep you engaged. As Aiden thinks at one point “if this isn’t hell, the devil is surely taking notes.” It’s got to be the most convoluted book I’ve ever read. I can’t begin to imagine what kind of organizational skills it took to write this and keep all the moving parts straight.

I particularly liked the fact that Aiden doesn’t completely take over the host body. The permanent resident, if you will, still has some power, which grows with each new host. It adds to the whole shape shifting atmosphere that’s so important to the story.

What isn't done well is a sense of time. If not for the mention of a telephone and later an automobile, this could have taken place anytime from 1880 on… written notes, laudanum, carriages, stable hands, butlers and ladies maids had me feeling like it was of Downton Abbey time period, but some better descriptions would have helped. I wanted to be able to picture outfits, if nothing else. I’m really curious to know if this was done on purpose...

The other issue that left me somewhat unsatisfied is the why this is happening. The whole reason Aiden and Anna are in this situation, if you will.

Well done and I recommend this. But know what you’re getting into when you pick up the book.

My thanks to netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advance copy of this book.

“Can’t you see, these masks we wear betray us. They reveal us.”

2.2 stars

If you want to have the best experience possible with this book, I would advise you to go into this with as little information as possible. Anything anyone would say can be considered as a spoiler, even the synopsis. Therefore, if you intend to read this book, do it before reading any review.

This book had so much potential. The synopsis gave me vibes of a Clue/Cluedo murder mystery game (one of my favourite game when I was younger) narrated Agatha Christie style. And it honestly kind of was, it just didn’t live up to my expectations. The story is taking place in the late 1920s, and in the opening scene, our narrator is running through a forest with no memory at all. He doesn’t know who he is, why he is here, however, the only thing he knows for sure is that he just witnessed a murder. He doesn’t recognize the name he was given nor his physical appearance, making him very confused until a masked stranger explained it all.



His name is Aiden Bishop, he is blocked on Blackheath until he solves Evelyn Hardcastle’s death. Indeed, the daughter of the hosts is going to be murdered tonight at 11 PM and Aiden is going to relive the day of her death 8 times, through different guests eyes, until he can come with the name of her murderer as well as a proof. If he doesn’t solve it before the end of the 8th day, his memory will be wiped one more time and he will have to start all over again and live through a new loop. If he succeeds, he’ll be released, but he is not the only one in this contest, there are two more candidates that, contrary to him, are not here by choice, and only the first one to find the murderer and the proof will have the chance to get free.
“Every man is in a cage of his own making.”

Each one of his hosts has a very different personality and influence over Aiden’s choices and reactions to one situation; he impersonates among others a drug dealer, a butler, a coward, a glutton, a rapist and a constable, some being more helpful than others in his quest to find the truth. Actually, in my opinion, there were too many characters, and the story focused more on the hosts than on Aiden, which made it very hard for me to feel connected and concerned about his storyline. Most of his actions and decisions didn’t make any sense for me, and in the end, I couldn’t understand his choices nor care about his actual desires and life-threatening decisions.



More generally, none of the characters felt enough developed for me to care about one of them. And yet this book was so long. It felt like it dragged for ages, and that so many useless parts were added to make us feel lost in the investigation itself. I'm under the impression that the footman was added for drama purpose, yet death lost all its meaning because all the characters kept reviving again and again. I didn’t feel scared by him as I should have been, but more annoyed that he made the story drag one more time. Some of the plot twists were so incongruous I couldn’t even feel shocked, I was just waiting for the “just kidding” moment, and it made the whole thing underwhelming. The only part that actually satisfied me was the fact that Blackheath was (view spoiler), that was well thought, but once again, the author failed to explain how is that possible in a strictly realistic way.
“Anger’s solid, it has weight. You can beat your fists against it. Pity’s a fog to become lost within.”

I'm overall very disappointed in this book but you definitely shoud try and see for yourself as it has amazing reviews all over goodreads.

* This book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley. *

The synopsis:
At a gala party thrown by her parents, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed—again. She's been murdered hundreds of times, and each day, Aiden Bishop is too late to save her. Doomed to repeat the same day over and over, Aiden's only escape is to solve Evelyn Hardcastle's murder and conquer the shadows of an enemy he struggles to even comprehend—but nothing and no one is quite what they seem.

When I started this book I initially thought it was going to be a thriller type book but it was so much more than that. I loved collecting all the clues and guessing at the culprit. About halfway through I started getting nostalgia but I couldn't place my finger on what about the book was causing it. Until, I walked into my son's room and saw the board game Clue! This was just like Clue for me but in book form! It had all the feel of the game including characters, rooms and murder weapons! As soon as I got started with this book, I was immediately pulled into the mystery trying to solve this whodunit case. I think this book is THE perfect fall read. 4/5